Omaha Police Bullet Kills ‘COPS’ Film Crew Member

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — When the call came from an officer who needed help facing an armed robber at a fast-food restaurant, two members of a reality television show riding along with Omaha police hustled to record the confrontation.

Within minutes, one crew member was dying from a bullet shot by an officer.

Thirty-eight-year-old Bryce Dion of Boston was the audio supervisor for "Cops." He's the first crew member of the long-running TV show ever killed while filming police in action.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer says Dion's death was a tragedy, but that police acted properly.

The shooting also killed the robbery suspect, 32-year-old Cortez Washington. The weapon he was carrying turned out to be a pellet gun. But Schmaderer says it seemed so real that both witnesses and officers were fooled.